Vegan baking, like all vegan cooking, is really rising in popularity with cooks everywhere, and Jackie Jones is here to guide you with cakes, biscuits and other treats in her latest book. Enjoy this Ecclefechan Tart recipe!

Scottish Vegan Baking
By Jackie Jones
Published by Birlinn Ltd

ECCLEFECHAN TART

Makes 1 tart
Prep time: 15 minutes for the filling
Cooking time: 15 minutes (pastry) 15 minutes (tart)

INGREDIENTS

Tart case
½ quantity Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (see recipe on p. 39)

Filling
50g vegan butter
1 00g soft pitted dates, chopped roughly
2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses or black treacle
1 tablespoon date syrup
75g raisins
25g walnuts, chopped roughly
25g flaked almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Water as needed – about 2 tablespoons

This delicious tart which is a combination of sticky toffee, raisins and crunchy nuts in a pastry case gets its name from the village of Ecclefechan in Dumfries and Galloway. The tart is often served as an alternative to mince pies at Christmas, and is rich and treacly.

METHOD

Heat the oven to l 80°C. Set aside an 18cm round, fluted tart tin.

Roll out the pastry to 3mm thickness and about 3cm wider than the pie dish. Put the pastry in the dish and press it into the base and sides. Trim away any excess and discard. Prick the base with a fork, cover in greaseproof baking paper and fill with baking beans (or dry rice), then part-bake (‘blind’) for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside while you make the filling.

Melt the vegan butter in a saucepan. Add the dates, molasses or treacle and date syrup and cook on low heat, stirring continuously and mashing with a spoon until the dates have softened and you have a toffee-like consistency. Remove from the heat and stir in the raisins, walnuts, almonds and vanilla extract. Then add as much water as needed to loosen the mixture a little – about two tablespoons. Tip the mixture into the pastry base, distributing it evenly.

Bake for 15 minutes until the filling is firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool completely before serving. Cut into slices and serve with Almond Cream (see recipe on p. 21) or Whipped Cream (see recipe on p. 40).

Scottish Vegan Baking by Jackie Jones is published by Birlinn Ltd, priced £18.99.